Our Budget Guide to Paris, France

Paris is one of those unique places where each time you visit, it could be a completely different experience. Whether this is your first time visiting the City of Lights, or this is one of many trips to Paris, you will find great recommendations in this post to help curate the perfect Parisian experience!

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Paris is NOT a budget friendly destination. There is no sugar coating it. It is known for its high quality cuisine and chic fashion after all.

But in every city that we visit, we find ways to budget, and Paris was no exception. You’d be surprised by the amount of completely FREE activities Paris has to offer.

This budget guide to Paris will give you a peek into how we were able to do Paris for under $160 a day (including housing!), while still getting the full Paris experience!

Getting AROUND

Paris has 16 different metro lines and over 300 metro stations. This means you can take the train to pretty much any place you will need to go in Paris! You can even take the train from the airport to get into the city for only a few euros.

Once you are in the city, it is easy to walk around Paris. We think exploring on foot is one of the best ways to experience Paris because the city has so much detail.

On our trip, we only used a taxi once because it rained, but had no problem walking from attraction to attraction.

Where to Stay in Paris

There are 20 unique neighborhoods in Paris. You will find tons of resources online that provides a deep dive into each neighborhood and what makes them special.

If you are visiting Paris for the first time, you will probably want to stay between the 1st and 7th “arrondissement” (or area) as that is where most tourist attractions are located. 

If you are interested in staying in one of the more bustling and trendy areas of Paris, Le Marias is the perfect spot! It is a fun and vibrant neighborhood surrounded by bars, beautiful gardens, restaurants, and shops. It’s the perfect blend of historical sites and artsy coffee shops.

We found that staying in Le Marias allowed us to walk to pretty much everything! It’s a 20-30 minute walk to Norte Dome, Pantheon, and the Louvre. Walk another 45 minutes, and we got to the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Basilica. 

What to Do in Paris

HistorY & ART

• Notre Dome – This famous building used to be the most popular tourist attractions in Paris before the devastating fire in 2019. Since they are still working on repairs, you can only witness its exterior beauty from a distance. Still cool to see!
• Pantheon – Another recognizable landmark in Paris, located in the heart of the Latin quarter. It’s a beautiful monument worth visiting if you have the time.
• Louvre – No trip to Paris is complete without visiting this famous art museum. Even if you aren’t interested in going into the museum, the modern glass building and surrounding sites are reasons enough to add this to your list. However, with tickets only 15 euros to see all 3 exhibits inside the museum, we recommend checking it out. Make sure to get there early and allow yourself a few hours to walk through.
• L’orangerie Museum – This museum is often overlooked despite its close proximity to the Louvre. With only about a 5 min walk from the Louvre, this is a great museum to visit if you enjoy modern art. This is where you can find some of the infamous Waterlily paintings by Claude Monet! 11 euros to get in. 
• A tour of Paris in a classic French car with ‘So french tours’: If you find yourself in the Montmartre neighborhood, consider doing a “So French History Tour”. For 40 euros, they take you around in an adorable convertible car for 30 minutes to see the iconic sites in the area while getting a history tour in style. A definite highlight of our trip!

Sites & Lookout spots

• Sacré-Cœur Basilica – Also known as The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris; this is a Roman Catholic church that sits at the summit of Montmartre, the highest point in Paris. Admire the beautiful architecture up close while taking in the view of the whole city from this spot.
• Le Mur des Je T’aime Mural – Looking for a unique and Instagram-able spot in Paris? Here you will find a dark blue tiled wall within a small park in the Montmartre neighborhood. The mural has “I Love You” written in hundreds of languages and is a great spot for photos!! 
• Trocadero – For first time visitors, this is the lookout spot you’ll want to go to to get a pretty solid view of the Eiffel Tower. Expect it to be busy since it is a very touristy area but worth just passing through to get that iconic Eiffel Tower photo.
• Arc de Triomphe – The famous arc commemorates those who fought for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Sadly during our most recent trip, this was under construction which naturally took away from the beauty. But normally, it’s a nice spot to visit if it’s your first time in Paris. You can even climb to the top for a killer view of the city.
• Eiffel Tour – Have you heard of it? Ha! Our favorite time to visit this insanely popular attraction it is at night when it’s all lit up! We recommend grabbing some cheap wine and snacks from a market and having a picnic in the park outside of the tower. There is also a great restaurant nearby called Linette that we loved (we still talk about that shrimp risotto and duck confit!) 
• Pont Alexandre III – Located near the Louvre, this iconic bridge will have you jaw dropped! It spans across the Seine River and is decorated with gold ornaments throughout. You also get a great view of the Eiffel Tower from this bridge.
• Luxembourg Gardens – We could have spent all day in these gardens! A beautiful space with fountains, sculptures, and vibrant florals.

SHOPS & BARS

• Montmartre Neighborhood – Arguably one of the best neighborhoods in Paris! With its charming vibes and lively atmosphere, you can spend hours exploring the shops, bars, and restaurants lining each block on hilly roads. Also located in the Montmartre neighborhood is the Love Wall and Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
• Champs-Elysees Shopping Center – A popular street in Paris known for it’s high-end luxury brand offerings. Even if you aren’t interested in splurging on high ticket items (you know we weren’t!), it’s fun to walk through the luxury retail stores and window shop the unique items.
• Rue de Capucines – If you are looking for spots to grab drinks, this street is bustling with great options and notable happy hours. Backus was one bar we really enjoyed that had a swanky vibe with great drink options!

To help you save, we also put together a list of our favorite FREE things to do in Paris. Some of these will really surprise you!

Where to Eat in Paris

• Les Phillosophies – Located in Les Marais off the beaten path. This spot is very popular for both locals and tourists.
• Le Deux Magots – A great option if you are looking for a nicer lunch spot located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris. It has the reputation as the rendezvous cafe of the literary and intellectual elite of the city such as Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. More of a tourist spot with a pricier menu, but it’s worth the unique experience and the food was great. We ordered the grilled chicken Caesar salad and the salmon sandwich. YUM!
• Le Mere Catherine – Located in the heart of Montmartre, head here for traditional French food. A bit pricier but worth it for the quality and size of food you get. Order wine and ditch the 9 Euros bottle of water for the table.  
• Linette – One of our favorite restaurants near the Eiffel Tower. You’ll find it to be very affordable for Paris and not touristy despite its proximity to the Tower. We recommend going at night and peaking around the corner to see the Eiffel Tower lit up!
• Au P’tit Grec – If you are looking for crepes, this place is a must! It’s located in the Latin district, and they have some of the best crepes we’ve ever tasted.
• Laduree – A macaron pastry shop with a few different locations around the world and several in Paris. A few of the Laduree locations also offer a full service restaurant which is fun to enjoy afternoon tea and desserts. Be warned: we continuously joke about spending $90 on tea and desserts between our group of 4 (#notsothrifty). Still, a must do in Paris or at least get ONE macaron to taste!! Try Pierre Herme too!!!

EASY WAYS TO SAVE MONEY

People spend the majority of their money in Paris on food, transportation, and shopping. Many of the actual historical or art attractions are either free or reasonably priced to experience. If you can find ways to cut costs on those three buckets of spending, then that will safe you substantially in the end. Here are a few simple ways that you can save some money without sacrificing your overall experience in Paris.

1. Walk to get around: pack some comfortable walking shoes and skip the Ubers or taxis. Not only will this save you a ton of money, but you will be able to see the views of Paris much better on foot than in a car.
2. Pack your own lunches and splurge on restaurant meals for dinner: You definitely need to experience the amazing Parisian gastronomy, but your wallet will thank you later if you limit the amount of meals you actually go out and splurge on. Stop at a cafe or market and have a budget friendly picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower for lunches. And save your big restaurant spends for dinner.
3. Consider splitting meals: The dinner portions at many restaurants in Paris are often big enough to share. We ended up splitting many of our meals instead of bringing back leftovers to our Airbnb.
4. Avoid tourist traps: Shops and restaurants near popular attractions are always way more expensive than they are worth. That’s because these areas are flooded with tourists, and they know they can charge more. No matter how convenient it might feel in the moment, you will save money by planning ahead.
5. Take the train to and from the airport: We mentioned walking above, but that obviously does not apply to airport transportation. If you’re flying into Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, we highly recommend hopping on the train to get into the city. There is a train station at CDG terminal 2 and for 10 Euros, you can get a one-way ticket to get you to the city center within 50 minutes. The train system in Paris is very established and can get you in walking distance to pretty much every neighborhood.
6. Take advantage of the many free activities: There are so many incredible free activities to do in Paris, you likely won’t be able to do all of them in one trip. If you are on a budget, Paris still has so much to offer you and history to teach you.

We hope you enjoyed our budget guide to Paris! Planning an ultimate trip to Europe? Make sure you check out our budget guides for Rome, Cinque Terre, and Florence as well!